huipilli.

Headword: 
huipilli.
Principal English Translation: 

an indigenous woman’s blouse or shift (loaned to Spanish as huipil)
S. L. Cline, Colonial Culhuacan, 1580-1600: A Social History of an Aztec Town (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1986), 36.

This garment could have feathers woven in. (see attestations)

Orthographic Variants: 
uipilli, uipili, vipilli, vipili
IPAspelling: 
wiːpiːlli
Alonso de Molina: 

uipilli. camisa de india. Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 157v. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.

Frances Karttunen: 

HUĪPĪL-LI pl: –TIN –MEH indigenous woman’s blouse / camisa de india (M) [(1)Tp.174,(4)Xp.101]. T has P for HU. X marks only the second syllable long. Frances Karttunen, An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992), 90.

Lockhart’s Nahuatl as Written: 

long unfitted blouse worn by indigenous women James Lockhart, Nahuatl as Written: Lessons in Older Written Nahuatl, with Copious Examples and Texts (Stanford: Stanford University Press and UCLA Latin American Studies, 2001), 218.

Attestations from sources in English: 

Vitztecolcujtlalpic vipilli, xoxoloio ujpilli, quechnenecujlhoazio vipilli, xuchimoiaoac ujpilli, pocujpilli, veuj tlamachtli itozquj, toltzaianquj, potoncaio vipilli, quappachio vipilli, coioichcaio vipilli, xomoiujvipilli, tlapaltochomjtica xicalnetzollo vipilli, acocoxuchimoiaoac vipilli, ixquauhcallo potoncaio xoxochiteio vipilli = The orange colored shift gathered at the waist; the shift [decorated with] yellow parrot feathers; the shift with the stamp device at the neck; the shift with flowers overspread; the shift of smoky color; [shifts] with large embroidered [figures] at the throat, with [designs] of cut reeds; the shift with feathers; the tawny colored shift; the shift of coyote fur; the duck feather shift; [the shift] with dyed rabbit fur; the shift with the gourd and thistle [design]; the shift overspread with dahlias; [the shift] with the eagle head in a setting, done in feathers; the shift with a border of flowers (central Mexico sixteenth century) Fr. Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain; Book 8 -- Kings and Lords, no. 14, Part IX, eds. and transl. Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble (Santa Fe and Salt Lake City: School of American Research and the University of Utah, 1951), 47. huipilli = "If it was a girl, a huipilli and cueitl, girls' clothes, as well as a case, a distaff, and a spindle--all things concerned with sewing--would be given to her." (Central Mexico, 1571–1615) The Mexican Treasury: The Writings of Dr. Francisco Hernández, ed. Simon Varey, transl. Rafael Chabrán, Cynthia L. Chamberlin, and Simon Varey (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000), 68. in ticueye in tivipille in pilli tiçivauh tiçivauh in tequiva tiçivauh in achcauhtli tiçivauh = you with the skirts, you with the wives of valiant warriors, you the wives of the constables. (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, Primeros Memoriales, ed. Thelma D. Sullivan, et al. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997), 232. Huipilli was a basic and universal upper-body female garment, a closed-sewn and sleeveless shift, reaching to the top of the thighs. It often had a specially decorated rectangle over the chest that probably strengthened the neck slit (Anawalt 1981:45–52). Justyna Olko, Turquoise Diadems and Staffs of Office: Elite Costume and Insignia of Power in Aztec and Early Colonial Mexico (Warsaw: Polish Society for Latin American Studies and Centre for Studies on the Classical Tradition, University of Warsaw, 2005), 103. ce huipilli yztac tonaltecayotl yhuan ce cueitl mexicayotl xoxouqui = a white huipil in the Tonallan style and a green Mexica-style skirt (Saltillo, 1627) Leslie S. Offutt, "Levels of Acculturation in Northeastern New Spain; San Esteban Testaments of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries," Estudios de cultura náhuatl 22 (1992), 409–443, see page 426–427. tlilpitzahuac huipilli = the shift with fine lines listed in this section of the Primeros Memoriales or xochitlapo huipilli, the flower bordered shift Justyna Olko, Turquoise Diadems and Staffs of Office: Elite Costume and Insignia of Power in Aztec and Early Colonial Mexico (Warsaw: Polish Society for Latin American Studies and Centre for Studies on the Classical Tradition, University of Warsaw, 2005), 56. xomoihuihuipilli = duck-feather shift, and hence their identification was possible only in that other way (though it seems difficult only on the basis of images). Justyna Olko, Turquoise Diadems and Staffs of Office: Elite Costume and Insignia of Power in Aztec and Early Colonial Mexico (Warsaw: Polish Society for Latin American Studies and Centre for Studies on the Classical Tradition, University of Warsaw, 2005), 56. nicmaCatiuh y noxhuiuhtzi ytoCa mechiora de los reYes nicmaCatiuh Centetl huipili tlamacho ystac yhuan centetl metlatl = I am giving my grandchild named Melchora de los Reyes a white embroidered huipil and a metate (1673, Mexico City) Jonathan Truitt, Sustaining the Divine in Mexico Tenochtitlan: Nahuas and Catholicism, 1523–1700 (Oceanside, CA: The Academy of American Franciscan History; Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2018), 249, 253. yn itoca Juan diego nechhuiquilia çentetl tzomihuipili yhuan çenSotl tzomicueytl = One named Juan Diego owes me a huipil of wool and a skirt of wool of one standard length. (San Miguel Aticpac, Toluca Valley, 1707) Caterina Pizzigoni, ed., Testaments of Toluca (Stanford: Stanford University Press and UCLA Latin American Center Publications, 2007), 67. in tecueye in tivipille in pilli tiçivauh in tecutli tiçivauh in tequiva tiçivauh in achcauhtli tiçuvauh (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, Primeros Memoriales, ed. Thelma D. Sullivan, et al. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997), 232. auh njcan tonoc, njcã tica in tiquauhtli, in tocelotl: aviz ie tehoatl, in ticueitl, tivipilli = And here thou art settled, here thou art present, thou who art the eagle warrior, the ocelot warrior. And here art thou who art a woman (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Fr. Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain; Book 6 -- Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy, No. 14, Part 7, eds. and transl. Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble (Santa Fe and Salt Lake City: School of American Research and the University of Utah, 1961), 67. Auh in cihoapiltontli, qujcencavilia cuetontli, vipiltontli, ioan in jxqujch cioatlatqujtl, tanatontli, malacatl, tzotzopaztli = And they prepared for the baby girl a little skirt, a little shift, and all the equipment of women, the little reed basket, the spinning whorl, the batten (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Fr. Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain; Book 6 -- Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy, No. 14, Part 7, eds. and transl. Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble (Santa Fe and Salt Lake City: School of American Research and the University of Utah, 1961), 205. Auh yujn ynnechichioale catca; ixtlauhxaoale, amacale, axochiavipile, axochiacueie, no poçulcaque, tonalchimale, tonatiuhchimale. = And in this manner was she adorned: her face was painted with red ochre; she had a paper headdress; she wore a shirt {ornamented with} water-flowers and a skirt {ornamented with} water-flowers; also she had foam-sandals; she carried a sun flower shield, a sun shield. (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Fr. Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain; Book 1 -- The Gods; No. 14, Part 2, eds. and transl. Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble (Santa Fe and Salt Lake City: School of American Research and the University of Utah, 1950), 4.

Attestations from sources in Spanish: 

Ihuan ma yecuel ticmocuitlahui tiquelehui in cueitl, i huipilli; teahuilquixti, teizolo, tecatzauh, tetlahuelilocatili = Cuídate todavía de desear la falda, el huipil, porque infama, deshonra, ensucia, pervierte (centro de México, s. XVI) Josefina García Quintana, "Exhortación de un padre a su hijo; texto recogido por Andrés de Olmos," Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl 11 (1974), 166–167. yey caxa tenticate tlapactli nauhtetl huipilli Xaltocamecayotl = tres cajas llenas de ropa, cuatro huepiles de Jaltocan (San Cristóbal Ecatepec, 1634) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos en náhuatl y castellano del siglo XVII, vol. 3, Teresa Rojas Rabiela, et al, eds. (México: CIESAS, 2002), 196–197. huipilli yacuiquez cetetl tochomicacallo auh yn occentetl tzomihuipilli = otro huepil nuevo de tochomite y otro huepil de lana nuevo (Amecameca, 1625) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos en náhuatl y castellano del siglo XVII, vol. 3, Teresa Rojas Rabiela, et al, eds. (México: CIESAS, 2002), 164–165. ce huipilli telpilli yhua cueytl otetl tzomitl dellal = un huepil trenzado y unas nahuas de un lienzo de sayal (Amecameca, 1625) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos en náhuatl y castellano del siglo XVII, vol. 3, Teresa Rojas Rabiela, et al, eds. (México: CIESAS, 2002), 162–163. ontetl huipilli potocaya = y otro huepil de pluma (Amecameca, 1625) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos en náhuatl y castellano del siglo XVII, vol. 3, Teresa Rojas Rabiela, et al, eds. (México: CIESAS, 2002), 162–163. hui[pilli] yacuic potocatica tlamacho yhua occe huipilli tochomiyo tlamachcho yacuic yhua ce netlapacholloni bondas quihuica = un huipil nuevo de plumas con diferentes labores que está lleno, y otro huepil de tochomite nuevo, y una colcha con puntas que tiene (Amecameca, 1625) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos en náhuatl y castellano del siglo XVII, vol. 3, Teresa Rojas Rabiela, et al, eds. (México: CIESAS, 2002), 162–163. centetl huipilli yhuan centetl queitl = un huipil y unas nahuas (Santiago Tlatelolco, 1600) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos en náhuatl y castellano del siglo XVII, vol. 3, Teresa Rojas Rabiela, et al, eds. (México: CIESAS, 2002), 42–43. ynocpateuh yn iztac XII yhuan hontetl quapachtli yni quetetl tepiton yhuan niquitohua heço tlatetectli quapachyo huipilli atle nitlanaquiz yhuan niquitohuan centlatetectli yztac yhuan hehtlatetctli quapachtli yhuan hontlatetectli yapalli yhuan centlatetectli coyotl = mis ovillos de hilo los blancos son doce y dos de leonado, y otro chico que son tres, y también digo que tres piernas de hilado en telas de leonado para huipiles, que son camisas de mujer, que les falta hilo para acabarlas de tejer, y también digo que otra tela blanca y otras tres telas de leonado, y otras dos telas de colorado, y otra tela que tira a amarillo (San Sebastián, 1576) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos indígenas novohispanos, vol. 2, Testamentos en náhuatl y castellano del siglo XVI, eds., Teresa Rojas Rabiela, Elsa Leticia Rea López, Constantino Medina Lima (Mexico: Consejo Nacional de Ciencias Tecnología, 1999), 174–175. Yzcatqui uipilli otetl sancta yquesia ytech pouiz yuan caja yuan cueytl yuan tomin matlactli omey yuan tlapachiuhcayotl. = Este es el guipile [son dos] para la iglesia, y caja y naguas, y dineros trece, y cubija (Ocotelulco, sin fecha) Vidas y bienes olvidados: Testamentos indígenas novohispanos, vol. 1, Testamentos en castellano del siglo XVI y en náhuatl y castellano de Ocotelulco de los siglos XVI y XVII, eds. Teresa Rojas Rabiela, Elsa Leticia Rea López, y Constantino Medina Lima (Mexico: CIESAS, 1999), 198-199. matlactli uipilli l = part of the tribute payment owed by the people of Quauhtinchan in 1523 to the encomendero (Quauhtinchan, sixteenth century) Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca, eds. Paul Kirchhoff, Lina Odena Güemes, y Luis Reyes García (México: CISINAH, INAH-SEP, 1976), 230. huipil = huipilli Yaha mitali:a ha:jpan xuxu:ltic, huipi:l i:stac uan xo:chit chi:ltic nosajka chilticna. = Ella viste refajo azu:l, blusa blanca con flores rojas y reboso rosado. (Sonsonate, El Salvador, Nahuat or Pipil, s. XX) Tirso Canales, Nahuat (San Salvador: Universidad de El Salvador, Editorial Universitaria, 1996), 13–14. yetetl tlahmachcueytl yn ontetl cueytl ypatiuh chichicohome pesos yoan nanahuitix auh yn oc centetl yeye pesos ypatiuh // yoan yetetl huipiltin mamacuili pesos ypatiuh = Y tres faldas bordadas (de labor), dos faldas de valor de siete pesos y cuatro tomines // y una más, tres pesos es su valor // y tres huipiles de cinco pesos cada uno es su valor (Tlaxcala, [1566] 1600) Catálogo de documentos escritos en náhuatl, siglo XVII, Serie Administrativa (1600–1699), vol. II (Tlaxcala: Gobierno del Estado de Tlaxcala y el Archivo Histórico del Estado de Tlaxcala, 2013), 1.